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January 27, 2010
Pictures of home wind generators, residential wind turbines, and residential wind power turbine designs.
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January 24, 2010
attempting to build any home wind turbine, … tower on the roof for the turbine to catch as much wind as possible. …Build Your Own Wind Turbine – How a Simple Wind Turbine Can Save You $1000’s on Electricity! … Wind Power for Homes – Home Wind Generator Click Here to See How Home Wind Power Can Save You Money … The wind turbine replaces all or part of the electricity bought from the power … The rotor blades rotate on a shaft so that they will catch the wind from all directions. .. …
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January 21, 2010
Energy costs keep sky rocketing with no end in sight. Pollution levels are increasing and our planet is facing a warming trend that could have devastating results. So the question is what can the average citizen do to save money and help the environment at the same time? One great way to help is to lower the amount of electricity your home purchases from the utility company by creating your own power. There are a few ways to do this, and wind power is one of the easiest and more reliable ways to produce energy at your home.
What is a Wind Turbine?
A wind turbine is a simple machine that collects kinetic energy produced by wind currents and converts this energy into power that can be used in the home. Wind turbines are installed on high towers; these towers are usually around eighty to one hundred and twenty feet high. Towers must be high enough to allow the turbine to be above any turbulence generated by objects on the ground. The higher the altitude also results in higher wind speed and in turn, a higher amount of energy can be produced.
How do Wind Turbines Work?
Wind energy is used to create mechanical energy. Turbines have blades that are turned by the wind; these blades turn a shaft to which they are connected. The shaft is then connected to a generator; the mechanical energy is transferred into the generator through the shaft and converts the mechanical energy into electricity. This electricity can then be used in the home for any electrical need. Homes that are using wind turbines to produce power are still hooked up to the power grid. Being hooked up to the power grid allows the home to still have power when wind currents aren’t strong enough to produce electricity. Another benefit of continuing to be connected to the power grid is that at the times your wind turbine is producing more power than your home can use, the utility company is absorbing the extra energy and paying you for it. This can lead to very low electric bills. A wind turbine can lower your power bill by 50-80% depending on the amount of wind in your area.
Types of Wind Turbines
There are two main types of turbines: horizontal- axis turbines and vertical-axis turbines. Turbines also come in different sizes as well. Utility companies use wind turbines that can range in size from 100 kilowatts up to several megawatts. These larger turbines are found in groups on wind farms. If you ever drive over the Temecula pass in California, you can see large wind farms along the highway. It is a spectacular site. Small turbines, 100 kilowatts or less, are used at homes. These are place on towers on the homeowner’s property and then used to provide some of the energy needed to run the home. Since the size of the tower is quite large, they are usually used in areas where the home is on one acre or more. There are very small turbines on very small towers that may be able to be of use in urban areas or on smaller lots.
The Future of the Wind Turbine
In September of 2008, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that grants a one-year extension of the renewable energy production tax credit. If passed by the U.S. House of Representatives the tax credit would be available until December 2009. Wind power is a viable part of the solution to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels. Wind power is a renewable resource and produces no harmful pollutants. The future looks bright for wind power and hopefully, as a result, there will be a bright future for our planet too.
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January 19, 2010
People show an increasing tendency towards having their own wind turbines for generating their own electricity and also for reducing their contribution to environmental problems arising from carbon based energy sources.
Wind turbines and their operation
A wind turbine is a machine that can convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy. Blowing wind rotates the blades of the turbine and the mechanism in it can generate electricity upon this rotation. Wind turbines have mainly two types. Horizontal axis and vertical axis wind turbines. They both have advantages and disadvantages but horizontal axis ones are more common due to higher efficiency.
Individual wind turbines
Individual turbines can be used for various purposes ranging from supplying energy for some small electrical devices where grid connection is not possible to meeting part of the energy demand of a house, a farm or even a production facility. Individual generation systems can be standalone or grid connected. The energy output from a standalone wind turbine can be directly used. However, in grid connected systems excess electricity produced can be supplied to the national grid system. In Ireland, you will have chance to be paid for the excess electricity you supply to the grid up to 500kW. Individual wind turbines can range from as small as 50W to as large as 3 MW, depending on their purpose of use.
Individual wind turbines for domestic use
Unlike large industrial wind turbines, these turbines have smaller dimensions that make them appropriate for using in relatively smaller areas. Their capacities range from as small as 50 watts to as high as 50 kilowatts and their prices vary depending on their sizes, types and manufacturers.
What to do for installing a small wind generation system?
First of all you have to decide whether you really need a small scale wind turbine for your energy needs. Sometimes just saving some energy can lower your bills but if the reason for considering a small turbine is being in off-grid areas you can proceed to the other steps. Inspect your site or your building (for rooftop turbines) to see whether it is appropriate for installing a wind turbine. You should have enough space to install a turbine without the wind being blocked by other buildings or obstacles. Determine your energy needs. Your utility bills will probably be your best references. See if the place you will install your turbine is windy enough. You can always find wind measurement data in wind energy associations’ websites for your area. Depending on your energy requirement and the wind potential in your area, decide the capacity and type of the turbine you will need. Your small scale wind system is expected to have a ROI period of maximum fifteen years. Economic lifetime of a small wind turbine without changing the main elements is estimated to be about twenty years and proper maintenance will increase this. However, maintenance needs of small wind turbines are expected to be minimal. Get any permits required in your area. You will probably need a contractor for erection, assembly, electrical connections of your wind turbine. However, if your turbine is micro scale, you can do these jobs by yourself as well. You can find domestic scale wind turbines and also 400W or 1 kW self installed turbines and accessories on windturbines.ie.
Individual wind turbines for industrial uses, i.e. factory sites
Turbines for industrial uses have capacities between 500kW to 3 MW. You will be able to generate electricity for wind speeds between 3 m/s and 25 m/s. For times that the wind is not blowing, one can still get electricity from the grid. This will result in additional revenue in addition to your reduced electricity bills.
Steps towards a wind turbine installation in your factory site:
The steps that should be made for installing an industrial scale wind turbine are approximately the same as those for installing a domestic turbine. The only difference is that they require more expertise. So it would be a good idea to take a turnkey service from an expert company in order not to experience any problems. The stages for a turbine installation are outlined below:
Wind Measurement: As your annual electricity generation depends mainly on wind speed, this step is of vital importance to be able to forecast your energy production. You can never know what you will generate without knowing what you have in hand. Feasibility studies: This will be a detailed study to let you know whether your proposed system will be a feasible project or not. Grid connection studies: This step assesses grid connection possibilities for your proposed wind turbine. Permission: Planning and installation of your wind turbine will require some permits on planning stage and during installation. Failure to get these permits may result in legal enforcement. Project budget planning: What you will need to spend for your wind turbine project from beginning to the end is an important item in any kind of planning for business. Procurement, commissioning and installation: All your equipment and staff needs for a turnkey project. Post-sales services: Issues like warranty, technical service, and maintenance.
Aidan Doran is a freelance author who writes about various Energy related subjects. For more information about Aidan visit his website techstore.ie
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January 16, 2010
Rooftop wind turbines offer a relatively inexpensive way to participate in the rush to renewable energy. The principle allure is low installation cost. Typically, tower installations for larger turbines add 50-80% to the cost of the system. With a rooftop turbine, an $800 tower is replaced by a $39 roof mounted tripod, or a length of pipe attached to the side of the house.
According to Ron Stimmel of the American Wind Energy Association, “…rooftop turbines still account for only 1 percent or so of the 10,000 small wind turbines that are sold each year in the country.” For this reason, few performance statistics are available from actual owners.
It’s possible, however, to get an idea of the estimated power output of a rooftop turbine from the manufacturer’s website. For example, the Energy Performance chart for Southwest Wind power’s 200W Air Breeze predicts 20-30 kWh (kilowatt hours) per month from 10-12 mph winds occurring 6 hours per day.
To put this in perspective, 30 kWh is less than 5% of the power consumed each month by the average household. Overall, the payback from a single, roof mounted turbine in tangible financial terms leaves a lot to be desired; especially in light of the fact that unlike solar, there is no Federal tax credit for residential wind power.
But anyone thinking about installing a rooftop turbine(s) is probably aware of this already. The rooftop wind enthusiast is not motivated by financial relief, but rather the intangible rewards of pride of ownership, walking the walk, or simple satisfaction as a hobbyist.
Motivation aside, it doesn’t make sense on any level to proceed with a wind powered project unless the three following requirements are met:
1. Higher than average cost per kWh. The more you pay per kWh for electricity, the more economical wind power becomes. A rule of thumb in the wind turbine industry states a residential wind powered system shouldn’t be considered unless you pay $0.10 or more per kWh for electricity.
The easiest way to determine your cost per kWh is divide the current monthly balance on your electric bill by kWh usage (also plainly stated on your bill).
2. Building codes. Visit your building department to find out if there are any zoning restrictions for roof top turbines. Don’t build your rooftop system first and ask questions later – only to be told it violates zoning laws and must come down.
3. Minimum wind speed. Wind speed of 7 mph, or 3 m/s (meters per second) is the start up speed for just about every wind turbine. However, in order to get any “juice” out of the turbine, minimum wind speeds of 10-12 mph for 6 hours per day are necessary.
Although wind speed charts for the United States and Canada are available to help site larger turbines, they’re of little use for rooftop systems because the data is collected at a minimum altitude of 30 meters (98.4 feet).
However, you can get a good idea of the wind speed at proposed turbine locations by purchasing an anemometer (wind speed meter) for around $150. The kit comes with a rooftop sensor, 60′ of cable and mounting hardware for the read out display. These are not data logging meters, so you’ll have to keep notes on your observations.
If you’re really serious about wind speed data collection, you can purchase a data logging anemometer kit with tracking software for $400.
Depending on where you live, wind speeds generally fluctuate with the seasons. Readings taken during the hot summer months of July and August, when you’re begging for a breeze, are not usually a reliable indicator of average yearly wind speed.
Also, rooftop turbines located at the edge of a long flat roof experience much more wind than those located on roof peaks.
If, after a month or two of collecting data you determine there just isn’t enough wind for a rooftop wind turbine, you can always resell the anemometer and turn your attention towards solar.
Home Improvement with Alternative Energy Heating Useful alternative energy and heating information since 2005.
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